The lockdown has given people plenty of opportunity to buy stuff they can’t afford and don’t really need, I know, I’m one of them. I’d been thinking about replacing the 7Artisan 35mm f2. This lens is tremendous value for money, but in the long term I want a lens with better control over edge sharpness and flare.
A while back when I had the M9 then M240 I used the Zeiss 35mm C-Biogon as my main lens and it was superb, to my mind. A lot of water, waste plastic and shopping trolleys have gone under the bridge since then, ’twas time to get another. Luckily there was a minter on eBay.
Clearly the lens needed immediate testing on arrival but what to photograph. I live near the centre of Rochdale, a great place to pass through. It has a few mildly interesting buildings and at the moment is like a ghost town. I could go on my official exercise walks with the camera.
So I did. With the M6 loaded with T-Max 400 and a Heliopan yellow filter and lovely sunny weather with blue skies, I set off on my walks. Trying to get interesting photos was going to be a challenge in Rochdale, what I got are technically nice but not particularly enthralling.
![](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/000063790006-1024x663.jpg)
![I live near the old C of E church called St Chads, You can see Chad above the door.](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/000063790004-1024x672.jpg)
I live near the old C of E church called St Chads, You can see Chad above the door.
![Years ago town corporations and wealthy toffs liked to show off with huge fancy town halls and Rochdale's certainly does that.](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/000063790019-1024x668.jpg)
Years ago town corporations and wealthy toffs liked to show off with huge fancy town halls and Rochdale’s certainly does that.
![The one thing that Rochdale does have of interest is the first Co-operative shop, now a museum.](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/000063790025-1024x757.jpg)
The one thing that Rochdale does have of interest is the first Co-operative shop, now a museum.
![](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/000063790036-1024x710.jpg)
The main street has recessed into a street full of charity shops, pound shops and pawnbrokers, however the council have built a new town centre consisting of one small street with a cinema and some shops with the intention of revitalising the towns fortunes. Notice how the photos are completely devoid of humans, to me this is a positive thing.
The film was whizzed off to the lab, processed and my scans we-transferred. I was very impressed with this lens, the detail is extraordinary when images are viewed as A3 prints. The combination of Zeiss 35mm lens, Kodak T-Max 400, Fuji Negastar developer and Noritsu scans is a happy one.
You can find more of my content on 35mmc here
You can find more thoughts about the Zeiss 35mm C-Biogon here, more about the M6 here, and T-Max 400 here
Share this post:
Comments
Craig Schroeder on 5 Frames with a Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 C Biogon, Leica M6 and T-Max400 at EI400 – by Phil Harrison
Comment posted: 14/06/2020
Comment posted: 14/06/2020
Trevor on 5 Frames with a Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 C Biogon, Leica M6 and T-Max400 at EI400 – by Phil Harrison
Comment posted: 14/06/2020
Comment posted: 14/06/2020
Taffy on 5 Frames with a Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 C Biogon, Leica M6 and T-Max400 at EI400 – by Phil Harrison
Comment posted: 15/06/2020
Comment posted: 15/06/2020
Comment posted: 15/06/2020
Comment posted: 15/06/2020